A garden made for women
The name tells you who the garden was for. Saheli means a woman's friend or companion, and bari is the Mewari word for a garden.
Our grandmother, who grew up in a far more modest household in Jaipur, used to say that the best gift you could give a woman of her time was a courtyard with a tree in it. This garden was that gift on a royal scale.
A rare peace: Maharana Sangram Singh II ruled Mewar from 1710 to 1734, after two centuries of war.
At a glance
- Built
- Early 18th century, rebuilt in the late 19th
- Built by
- Maharana Sangram Singh II
- Open
- From morning; fountains may not run all day
- Allow
- About an hour
- Best time
- Opening time, in winter or the monsoon
- Photography
- Allowed; ask before photographing people
- Getting there
- About 15 minutes' drive from Pichola
- Why then: the Mughal empire was weakening after Aurangzeb's death, the Marathas had not yet arrived in force, and the court in Udaipur had time and money for beauty.
- His best-remembered work: among his palaces, temples and gardens, this is the one people remember.
- Where: on open ground north of the city where the hills come down to meet the water, as a retreat for the women of his household.
- The legend: a royal bride brought a party of young companions, her saheliyan, from her own home to live with her in the zenana. Tradition says there were forty-eight.
- A royal gift: the Maharana is said to have designed the garden himself and given it to his queen, so she and her companions could walk, bathe, sing and play away from the politics of the court.
- Purdah: Rajput royal women lived behind screens and saw the outside world mostly through the latticed windows of the zenana.
- What it gave them: a guarded, private garden outside the city, with sky, trees and running water.
A garden between two storms
Saheliyon ki Bari was made in a short calm in Mewar's history. Knowing what came before and after makes its playfulness more moving.
The long war: Mewar had known two centuries of war before Sangram Singh II came to the throne, including the loss of Chittor to Akbar in 1568.
The pause: under Sangram Singh II the court could spend on palaces, temples and gardens instead of armies.
Facts to know
- Before
- Two centuries of war
- Sangram Singh II
- Ruled 1710 to 1734, a time of peace
- After
- Maratha raids and an emptied treasury
- Later rescue
- Rebuilt after the old Fateh Sagar dam failed
- What followed: within a generation of his death, Maratha armies were sweeping across western India demanding tribute, and Mewar's treasury emptied.
- A minister's struggle: our guide to Bagore ki Haveli tells how prime minister Amar Chand Badwa held the state together through those years.
- Lost and found: when the old earth dam of Fateh Sagar gave way in the nineteenth century, the garden was damaged too, and it was rebuilt with the fountains you see today.
- Why it matters: a garden made purely for pleasure, in a land that had so little peace, is a rare thing.
Why water mattered so much here
Rajasthan is a state that measures its year by the rain. A garden full of fountains was not decoration. It was a dream of the monsoon, made permanent.
The season of love: in Rajasthani poetry and painting the monsoon brings dancing peacocks, gathering clouds, longing lovers and women on swings at Teej.
In the paintings: Mewar painters made series of the musical moods called ragas, and some of the loveliest show a woman in a garden as the first rain falls.
Brought to life: here the fountains splash, the pools stay full and green even in the dry months, and one pavilion is ringed by jets that patter down like rain from a clear sky.
Facts to know
- Fed by
- Water from Fateh Sagar
- Damaged
- Late 19th century, when the old dam gave way
- Fountains
- Many from the rebuilding, some said to be English
- Style
- Rajput pleasure garden, not a Mughal charbagh
- The Mughal model: formal charbagh gardens, divided into four by water channels, as images of paradise.
- The Rajput twist: smaller, more intimate and more playful, with kiosks to sit in, pools to bathe in and fountains for fun rather than symmetry.
- No grand axis: instead a series of courts, each with its own water and its own mood.
- The setting: just below the bank of Fateh Sagar, the lake Maharana Fateh Singh rebuilt in the late nineteenth century.
- Rebuilt after a flood: the garden was damaged when the old dam gave way, then rebuilt, and many of today's painted cast-iron fountain basins date from then.
- Two centuries in one: an eighteenth-century plan with a nineteenth-century heart.
Walking the garden, court by court
Saheliyon ki Bari is not large, but it is easy to rush. Walk it slowly, in this order, and stop wherever you hear water.
Words to know
- Saheli
- A woman's friend or companion
- Bari
- Mewari for a garden
- Chhatri
- A small domed pavilion
- Bin badal barsat
- Rain without clouds
- Charbagh
- Mughal garden divided in four
The gate and the first lawn
From the road: a gate opens into an outer garden of lawns and old trees.
- Early morning: gardeners water the beds, and the air smells of wet earth.
- A threshold: pause here and let the noise of the road fall away.
The great fountain court
The one in every photograph: a large pool set with fountains, with stone and marble chhatris at its centre and corners.
- Marble elephants: raise their trunks around the pool, spouting water into the basin.
- Rainbows: on a sunny morning you catch small ones in the spray.
The rain pavilion
The best-loved feature: fine jets fall from the pavilion's eaves in a ring, like a monsoon shower.
- Its local name: many Udaipur families call it bin badal barsat, rain without clouds.
- Stand inside: it sounds exactly like rain on a roof. Children love it, and so do grandparents.
The lotus pool
A quieter court: a pool of lotuses around a central kiosk.
- Morning flowers: in the monsoon and early autumn the pink flowers open in the morning and close by afternoon.
- Look for: dragonflies over the water and small birds drinking at the edge.
The side gardens and flower beds
Shaded walks: smaller gardens with flower beds and trees, including old mango and other fruit trees.
- In winter: the beds are bright with flowers.
- Where the women strolled: and still the best places to sit with a book.
The small museum
- Modest: objects and pictures connected with the region's history.
- Ten minutes: worth it in the heat of the day when the garden is too bright.
The best hour and the best season
Saheliyon ki Bari is a morning place. By late morning it fills with school groups and couples taking photographs, and the magic thins.
Opening time: soft light, gardeners still at work and the fountains just turned on.
The rain pavilion alone: at that hour you may have it entirely to yourself.
Season by season
- Oct to Mar
- Warm and clear; flowers best in Dec and Jan
- Jul to Sep
- Greenest, lotus pool full
- Apr to Jun
- Hot; leave by nine
- Hariyali Amavasya
- New moon of Shravan, late July or August
- Then Fateh Sagar: spend an hour, then go up to the lake just above before the day warms.
- Surest for fountains: they do not always run all day, so mornings are best.
- The season it was made for: walking through in a light monsoon rain, fountains running and peacocks calling outside, is one of the most romantic experiences in Udaipur.
- Hariyali Amavasya: a crowded, cheerful local fair around Fateh Sagar and the garden, with stalls, swings and families in their best clothes.
- A women's day: by long custom one day of the fair is set aside for women. If you are in town, go for an hour.
- Calendars: our best time to visit Udaipur guide, and our page on Teej for the monsoon festivals.
How to visit Saheliyon ki Bari
This is one of the easiest sights in Udaipur to enjoy. A few simple choices make it much better.
Go at opening time: within two hours it can be busy, and the fountains may not run all day.
Allow about an hour: combine it with Fateh Sagar and the Maharana Pratap memorial at Moti Magri for a full northern morning.
- Guides: not essential, but a good one brings the story and painting traditions to life. Ours usually join you for the whole morning.
- Accessibility: paths are mostly level and paved, making it one of Udaipur's most accessible sights.
- Underfoot: a few low steps between courts, and wet, slippery paving near the fountains.
- What to wear: comfortable shoes, and expect a little spray. A hat helps in the open courts after nine.
- Photography: allowed. Be considerate of couples and families, and ask before photographing people.
- Food: there is little inside, so bring water and plan breakfast or coffee by Fateh Sagar afterwards.
What most visitors miss
Most people walk to the main fountain court, take a picture and leave. These are the details our guides point out.
The sound
- Close your eyes: in the rain pavilion, and listen.
- Made for the ears: every court has a different sound of water, from a heavy splash to a fine patter.
The elephants' faces
- Look closely: each marble elephant has a slightly different face.
- Worn smooth: some by generations of children's hands, a sign of how long this has been a family place.
The garden in paintings
At the City Palace: look for Mewar paintings of royal women in gardens, at swings, pools and fountains.
- A painting to walk into: after that, the garden looks less like a park.
- A working studio: our miniature painting experience takes you to one.
The lotus at opening time
- Morning only: in the monsoon and early autumn, the flowers open in the morning and close as the day heats up.
- Come late: and you will see only leaves.
The birds in the early morning
Before the crowds: parakeets in the old trees, bulbuls and purple sunbirds among the flowers.
- Peacocks: calling from nearby gardens and hillsides, especially in the monsoon.
- Bring binoculars: and walk the side gardens first, while they are still quiet.
With children, grandparents and a camera
The garden is one of the gentlest stops in Udaipur for every age. A few details help each kind of visitor enjoy it more.
For young children: the rain pavilion, the spouting elephants and the fountains are endlessly entertaining, and the paths are level.
Watch the edges: paving near the fountains can be wet and slippery, so hold small hands there.
- For grandparents: benches in the shaded side gardens, and only a few low steps between courts.
- A family morning: breakfast by the lake, the garden at opening time, then the puppets at Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal before lunch and a swim at the hotel.
- For photographers: early light on the water and the kiosks, and small rainbows in the fountain spray on a sunny morning.
- The lotus shot: in the monsoon and early autumn, only in the morning, before the flowers close.
- Be considerate: ask before photographing people, and give pre-wedding shoots their space.
- Before nine: after that the open courts are bright and hot, so bring a hat.
The garden in the life of the city today
Watch the gate for half an hour and you will see a whole slice of Udaipur walk through it: walkers, students, newlyweds and grandmothers.
First visitors: local walkers, many retired, doing slow circuits of the fountain court before sitting on the benches to talk.
Mid-morning: college students arrive in pairs and small groups.
- Still doing its job: a garden built for royal women is now one of the few places in the city where young people can sit together in the open without remark.
- Wedding photographs: Udaipur is a favourite wedding city, and couples come here for pre-wedding shoots.
- A winter scene: a bride-to-be in a bright lehenga by the elephants, with a photographer, an assistant with a reflector and an aunt holding everyone's bags.
- Give them room: they have usually booked the hour, and they will be delighted if you smile rather than photograph them.
- Weekends and term time: families come at weekends and holidays, and school groups almost every weekday.
- A park later on: not spoiled, simply noisy and cheerful rather than a private retreat.
Local tip
To see both sides of the garden, come once at opening time, and drive past again in the evening as families walk home from Fateh Sagar.
Udaipur's other royal gardens
Saheliyon ki Bari is the most famous garden in Udaipur, but the Maharanas built gardens wherever they built palaces. These are the ones we like to pair with it.
Amar Vilas, the garden on the hill
- In the City Palace: the highest court, a raised garden with cusped arches around a marble tank on top of a natural hill.
- Two ideas of a garden: one a private court in the sky, the other an open retreat by the lake.
The garden court of Jag Mandir
- On the island palace: a walled garden of frangipani, jasmine and bougainvillea, with black and white paving and fountains.
- The court's party garden: and in the late afternoon one of the calmest places in the city.
Gulab Bagh, the rose garden
In the old city: a large public garden laid out by the Maharanas in the nineteenth century and named for its roses.
- Shady and spacious: old trees and a library building.
- Sunday mornings: where many Udaipur families take their children. The vintage car collection is close by.
The island garden on Fateh Sagar
- On the largest island: a public garden reached by boat, with lawns, paths and views back to the hills.
- Half the fun: the boat ride across, a favourite local outing.
What to pair with the garden
The garden sits in the greener, newer north of Udaipur, where the city spreads out around Fateh Sagar. Everything here is an easy drive or walk.
Fateh Sagar, just above the garden
The people's lake: Udaipur's second great lake, the one local families love most.
- Morning: walk the embankment or take a boat to the island garden.
- Evening: the lakeside fills with students, couples and roasted corn sellers.
Moti Magri and the Maharana Pratap memorial
- The memorial: on a hill beside Fateh Sagar, a bronze statue of Maharana Pratap on his horse Chetak, in gardens with a view over the lake.
- Real feeling: Mewaris come here with emotion. Our journal on Maharana Pratap and Haldighati tells his story.
Shilpgram, the crafts village
West of Fateh Sagar: the West Zone Cultural Centre's crafts village of traditional houses from across western India.
- In December: a large crafts fair.
- Meet the makers: our crafts experience explains how we meet artisans directly.
The Monsoon Palace, for the evening
- The day's shape: garden and Fateh Sagar in the morning, rest after lunch, then Sajjangarh on its hilltop for sunset.
- A perfect day: in the north and west of the city.
Where to stay for a garden morning
Most of our guests stay on Lake Pichola and drive to the garden in about fifteen minutes. Here is how to choose.
The classic Udaipur: stay on Pichola and drive up before breakfast.
Western shore: The Oberoi Udaivilas and The Leela Palace Udaipur.
- On the island: the Taj Lake Palace.
- Inside the City Palace: Shiv Niwas Palace, in the heart of the old city.
- Heading north: for Eklingji, Nathdwara or Kumbhalgarh, consider RAAS Devigarh, an eighteenth-century hill palace at Delwara about 30 kilometres north.
- A natural flow: the garden lies on that side of town, so a morning here and an afternoon in the hills fit together.
- Compare: our guide to luxury hotels in Udaipur, room by room.
A northern morning, the way we plan it
This is the morning we give guests on their second day in Udaipur, when they have seen the palace and the lake and want something gentler.
Opening time, Saheliyon ki Bari
- As the gates open: walk the fountain court, sit in the rain pavilion and look for lotuses.
- Leave on cue: as the first school groups arrive.
Mid-morning, Fateh Sagar and Moti Magri
- Coffee by the lake: walk the embankment.
- The memorial: climb Moti Magri for the view across the water to the hills and the Monsoon Palace.
Late morning, a painter or a craft
- A studio or Shilpgram: visit a miniature painter in the old city or the crafts village.
- Then rest: lunch at your hotel and a rest through the heat.
Sunset, the Monsoon Palace
- An hour before sunset: drive up through the forest to Sajjangarh and watch the lakes turn gold.
- Three days: our Udaipur itinerary shows how this fits.
Who will love it, honestly
Saheliyon ki Bari is not a monument in the way the City Palace is. It is a garden, and its pleasures are small and gentle.
The curious: anyone interested in how royal women lived.
Families with young children: one of the easiest and happiest stops in the city.
Good for
- Garden lovers
- Water and quiet mornings
- Young families
- Level paths, fountains
- Photographers
- Early light on water and kiosks
- Repeat visitors
- The greener north of the city
- Couples: love it, as Udaipur's couples always have.
- At midday: if you expect a palace, you may be underwhelmed. It is busy at popular hours, some fountains may be off and the museum is small.
- At the right hour: with its story in mind, one of Udaipur's most charming places and a perfect pause between grander sights. See our things to do in Udaipur.
- For a second trip: many who spent a first visit on Pichola never come this way. A slow morning here, at Fateh Sagar and Moti Magri, then sunset at Sajjangarh, shows the everyday Udaipur.
- In its season: our Monsoon in Mewar journey is built around that side of the city in the rains.
